The Luck of the Irish
by gidgetgirl
Summary: When Angel ignores his heritage, leprechauns kidnap his daughter, Hopie, to teach him a lesson COMPLETE!
1. Candyland

DISCLAIMER: All Buffy and Angel the Series characters are the intellectual property of Joss Whedon, et al.  I own Hopie, Leo Bunny, Nicolaa, Maddy, Clay, and Colette (and since they may or may not be making an appearance, I also own Anni, Chance, Kendall, and, ironically enough, Joss).  

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a fluffy companion piece to my Hopie/Anni series that includes Only Hope, Le Bella, and Things Unseen, as well as another companion, A Very Hopie Christmas.  If you haven't read those stories, the Cliff's notes version is that Hopie is Cordy and Angel's adopted daughter, who also happens to be inhabited by their essences and a magic called Shanshu Itzca.  Cordy and Angel are engaged, season four of Angel never happened, and Faith and Lindsey are currently away on their honeymoon.

The Potentials from Things Unseen split into two groups, half to train in Sunnydale with Buffy and Co and half to LA with Faith and co.  Currently, Nicolaa, Maddy, and Colette are in LA, as is Maddy's brother, Clay.  

This is a St. Patrick's day fic and will probably be around three chapters long.  Enjoy, and remember to review if you'd like to see more, because I'm about to go on Spring break, and I've been abandoning fics like crazy lately.

The Luck of the Irish: Chapter One

            Connor put his tongue in between his lips in concentration, sinking deep into thought.

            "Hurry up, My Connor," his little sister pleaded, shooting him her very best pleading Hopie eyes.

            "I'm concentrating," Connor said, narrowing his eyes a bit.

            Cordelia laughed.  "Connor, it's Candy Land.  You don't concentrate in Candy Land."

            Connor shot her a very deliberate look.  "Well, you obviously don't," he said, "because Hopie is kicking you're as- er, butt."  Connor, knowing better than to face the wrath of Cordelia, corrected his language at the last instant.

            "Just go, Connor," Angel said, rolling his eyes a bit.

            Connor reached for a card and ended up getting sent back two places.  "Thanks a lot," he said, glaring at Cordelia.  "I was almost  Queen Frostine, and now I'm back near the stupid plum guy again and Hopie's going to win."

            Hopie picked up the next card and carefully counted her way to victory.  "Green.  One, two, three, four, five!  GREEN!"  She was about to announce that she had indeed won, when pity for Connor took over.  

            "You can win if you want to, My Connor," she offered.

            An increasingly familiar smiling face poked her head into the room.  "Hey Angel.  Gunn said that there's a thyrixidol demon in the parlor, wanting to make nice for some reason."  The girl turned her light brown head toward Connor and gave him a sympathetic grin.

            "Hopie's giving you a pity win at Candy Land, huh?" she commented.

            Connor glared at Maddy, and she beamed at him, very glad that Dawn lived in Sunnydale.  At first, Maddy had been crushed when the group had separated the Potentials and Clay had decided they would be going to LA, away from Kendall and Chance, Maddy's closest friends, but then Maddy had realized that living in LA meant living near Connor, with no other girls around except for Nic, who was too practical to go after a guy with a girlfriend, and Colette, who was too quiet to go after anything at all.  

            "Don't feel bad," Maddy consoled Connor, "yesterday she beat me at Monopoly."

            Cordy grinned at the girl.  Not many twelve year olds would confess to losing a game of skill to a four year old, but there wasn't a shy or dishonest bone in the young Potential's body.

"Aunt Anya taught me how to play," Hopie said happily.  

            "Let's hope no one ever teaches her to play poker," Angel commented, getting up to go see about the demon.  "Hopie would become a little card shark."

            Hopie's mind briefly wandered to the kind of sharks that swam in the ocean, but she dismissed the notion as boring.  Sharks were way less interesting than the demon downstairs.

            She bounded after Angel, but he turned around, planted a quick kiss on her head, and instructed her to stay upstairs.  Then he quickly left the room, because, despite all of his super abilities, the en-souled vampire was defenseless against Hopie's batting eyelashes.

            As her daddy left the room, Hopie challenged the others to a game of Go Fish.  They politely declined, and Cordy talked the little girl into taking a bath and getting into her pajamas.

            As Hopie splashed in the tub, a thought struck her.  "Hey Momma," she said.  Cordy shampooed the little girl's hair up as she answered.

            "Yes, baby?" she said.

            "Do you think," Hopie asked, "that if there was such a thing as a shark demon, it would be a demon with the head of a shark, or a shark with demony teeth and claws and stuff?"

            Cordy thought for a moment, her mouth turning up in a smile as she did.  "Probably the first one," she said after a minute.

            Hopie grinned wickedly and splashed Cordelia with some water.  "Silly Momma," the little girl giggled.

            Cordelia wrapped a towel around Hopie and began to tickle the little girl.  Throughout the hotel, Hopie's screaming giggles could be heard.

            Downstairs, Angel's demonic visitor paused, listening to the sounds of his giggles.  "Imagine," he said out loud, "Angelus, a family man."

            Angel glared at the demon, who was known, for some inexplicable reason, as Clever Hans.  The name certainly hadn't come from his ability to judge the temperaments of those around him.

            Angel glared at the short, fat demon, right in the center of his third eye.  "Listen, Hans," he said, addressing the harmless demon as an acquaintance, if not a friend.

            "Clever Hans," the demon interjected politely.

            "Whatever," Angel said.  "I'm not Angelus anymore.  Thanks to Hopie, I never will be again."

            "Would it be 'Liam' again, then?" the demon asked, remembering the young man Angel had once been.

            Angel's brow wrinkled with the memory of the poor excuse for a human being he had been in his pre-vamp days.

            "It's not Liam either," he said.  "It's Angel."

            Hopie ran down the stairs, her wet hair dripping water onto her lavender pajamas.  "Who's Liam?" she asked.

            "Nobody, baby," Angel replied.  Hopie would never know about that.

            Hopie squinted at the demon and looked at him for a minute.  "Not target practice, right Daddy?" Hopie asked Angel, trying to confirm that this wasn't a bad demon to be shot with her crossbow.

            Angel cast a look at Clever Hans.  "That remains to be seen," he muttered.

            Clever Hans held something out toward Angel.  Angel took the parcel into his hands, recognizing it as what it was.

            "I recognized the dra--" Angel caught Hans off before he could finish.

            "Thank you," Angel said coldly.

            "Goodbye, Liam me boy," Clever Hans said, walking out the door.

            Hopie shot a questioning look at Angel as Cordy came down the stair after her.  "Sorry, Angel," she said, "this little wiggle worm got away from me."  Hopie giggled, forgetting all about the Liam incident.    

             Cordy picked Hopie up and leaned her head toward the aged parcel in Angel's hands.  "What's that?" she asked.

            Angel's eyes darkened.  "Nothing," he said, a broody expression settling over his face.  "It's nothing."

            "Daddy is brooooooooodiiiiiiiiiiiiiing," Hopie said in a stage whisper to Cordy, stringing out the word.

            Cordelia watched as Angel walked into his office.

            She kissed Hopie on the nose.  "Yes," she said.  "Daddy is."

            An hour later, Hopie was snuggled in bed, and Cordy came into Angel's office.  He was staring at the wall.  She put her hand on the back of his neck and rubbed for a minute.  Angel turned his head into her caress, and after a minute, he lifted his eyes to hers.

            "Sorry," he said sheepishly.  "Clever Hans wasn't exactly a welcome sight."

            "Clever Hans?" Cordy raised an eyebrow.

            Angel shrugged.  "Let me tell you, he's not named for his vast worldly knowledge or his control of philosophy."

            Cordy smiled and brought her lips to Angel's.  They kissed and fell into the sweet connection between them, lost in the tenderness of the moment.

            The next morning, Angel got up and banished the thought of the package and its contents from his mind.  He wouldn't be that person.  That life, that country, that family had no place in his life now.

            Hopie came bounding down the stairs, her backpack slung happily over one shoulder, wearing a mint green dress that set off the green flecks in her eyes.

            A second later, Maddy came tearing into the room, wearing a green t-shirt.  Angel wrote it off to coincidence.

            When Cordelia came in, wearing a kelly green belt around her waist, he began to wonder.  When Connor entered the room wearing lime green, he knew something was up.

            "Ouch!" he said suddenly.  He looked down.  Maddy was looking up at him, beaming like a Cheshire cat.

            "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Angel," she said mischievously.  Clay came in and, ruffling his little sister's hair, ordered her pinching fingers away from the poor besieged vampire.

            "Where's your green, Daddy?" Hopie asked.

            Not feeling up to an explanation, Angel looked around the room until he found another person not wearing green.  "Lorne's not wearing green," he said quickly.

            Everyone stared at Angel in silence for a moment.

            "Angelcakes," Lorne said, "don't take this the wrong way, but I _am_ green."

Fred looked at Angel curiously.  "You're Irish, Angel," she commented.  "Isn't St. Patrick's day supposed to be a big thing for you?"

            "I'm not Irish," Angel said shortly.  "Not anymore."

            He turned to Cordelia and gesturing toward Hopie asked, "Does she really have to dress up for this stupid holiday?" he asked.

            Cordy shot him a warning look as Hopie looked curiously at her daddy.  "The other kids will pinch her if she doesn't," she pointed out reasonably.

            Angel raised one eyebrow.  "Like there's a kindergartener on this planet whose ass Hopie couldn't kick."

            "Angel!" Cordy said, shooting him her special don't-use-that-language-around-the-kid dagger eyes.

            Hopie batted her eyelashes at Angel.  "Be careful, Daddy," she said in a whisper that everyone in the room heard.  "I think Momma might kick your ass if you're not."

            "Shall we have a round robin ass-kicking then?" Maddy asked, relishing the word.         "Maddy," five people said warningly at once.  The youngest Potential had a weakness for curse words and for making the adults say her name warningly.  She was able to do both quite proficiently.

            Angel crossed the room and planted a kiss firmly on Cordy's lips.  After a moment, she smiled into the kiss and laid her head on his chest.  Angel took that as a sign that he was forgiven.

            Elsewhere, someone was less forgiving.  Angel had forgotten his heritage.  They'd gone to the trouble of sending him the package, and he wasn't even going to share it with his son and daughter.

            "The wee one, she's the answer to all this," Clarence commented.  "Methinks Angel might rethink his position on tis special day if we give him a bit o incentive."

            "Are you suggesting we kidnap the Shanshu child?" A younger leprechaun named Spelke asked.

            Clarence smiled a happy grin smile.  "That's exactly what I'm suggesting.  Val, Wynn, go with Spelke and see it done.  I think it's about time we met the wee Angel.  After all, we are nigh to kin with the wee lassie."

            The kindergarten teacher gasped as little Hopie Chase Angel disappeared from the classroom.  She heard giggling coming from behind her, but when she turned around, no one was there.

            "Darn leprechauns," one of the little boys said.

            The teacher looked at him oddly.  "My daddy says that when something goes wrong on St. Patrick's Day, it's always the leprechauns' fault."

            Spelke stuck his tongue out at the child, forgetting the boy couldn't see him.

            A split instant later, Hopie looked around the cave she was sitting in.  Just outside, she could hear a waterfall, and the cave sparkled with gold dust.

            She shot the leprechauns around her.  "Where am I?" she asked, not in the least afraid and glad that she was sure to miss nap time now.

            "Welcome," Clarence said majestically, "young Shanshu, to our herd."

TBC… a herd of leprechauns?  YUP.  More Angel/Cordy fluffiness, and some interaction between Hopie and the leprechauns coming up soon!  It will, I promise, get sillier and fluffier from here.

PLEASE REVIEW   


	2. Nunzio

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the AtS or BtVS characters, but I do own everyone else, including but not limited to: Hopie, Colette, Maddy, Nicolaa, Clay, and the Leprechauns.  Oh, and I also don't own the song lyrics.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I'm officially on spring break and will be for two weeks, but the response to the last chapter was so great that I'm going to try to squeeze out another chapter.  Although I'm planning on taking the next couple of weeks off, if all of you keep reviewing, I'll try to put up a couple more chapters by St. Patrick's Day. 

Oh, and for those of you who asked about Colette and Nic, don't worry, you'll see some of them, but not nearly as much as you will in Thine Own Self.

WARNING: This chapter is pretty silly.  Read it at your own risk.

The Luck of the Irish: Chapter Two

            Colette and Nicolaa stood outside the door to Angel's study, pretending they weren't listening to the discussion the adults were having inside.  Maddy, having no such qualms, had her ear to the door, taking in every word.

            When the door opened, the girl nearly fell over.  Then she grinned up at the person who had opened the door innocently.

            "Didn't anyone ever tell you it wasn't nice to eavesdrop?" her brother asked her, narrowing his eyes a bit.

            He glanced up at the other girls, and Nicolaa stared coolly back at him.

            "Nope," Maddy said with a grin, "Never.  Besides, I couldn't hear a word they were saying.  What's going on, Clay?"

            Clay took a deep breath.  "Hopie's missing," he said after a moment.  The girls all looked at him disbelieving.

            "What do you mean she's missing?" Nic asked carefully.

            Inside the study, Cordy sank to the floor for a moment and lowered her head.  Like any mother, the very worst images flashed through her head.  Hopie being kidnapped.  Hopie being lost and scared.  Hopie accidentally maiming her attackers.

            Angel spoke angrily into the phone.  "What do you mean she disappeared?" he asked the kindergarten teacher.  "People don't just disappear."  Angel caught Fred's eyes and he shrugged.

            "Well, people don't usually disappear," Fred said helpfully.  "I think it's safe to say it's the exception rather than the rule when they do."

            Connor put a hand on Cordy's shoulder.  "It'll be okay," he said awkwardly.  "Whatever has happened, Hopie will be fine."

            Cordy looked up at him.  "She's just a little girl, Connor," she said.

            Connor swallowed the unwilling tears that were rising in his throat.  "I know," he said.

            Lorne looked at them.  "Chins up, everybody," he said.  "I get the feeling that the little baby doll will be just fine and back here beating Junior's butt at Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders before we know it."

            "Hey, man," Connor said to Lorne, "those chutes can be really tricky."

            Cordelia rose and put her arm around Angel who squeezed her closer to him.

            "Do you really think she's all right Lorne?" Cordy asked.

            "I'd bet my best bright blue tailored suit with silk kerchief on it," Lorne said.

            Gunn tried to manage a laugh.  "I wouldn't want to be the person who took her," he said.  "We all know what Hopie can be like in a magical temper tantrum."

            "So," Hopie said, batting her eyelashes at the leprechauns.  "Want to play a game?"

            Clarence watched the little girl with a smile on his green face.  She was definitely kin to them, through both her ancient magic and through Angel's Irish ancestry.  She'd become the vampire's child by every meaning of the word.

            Val grinned at the child.  "What kind of game?" she asked.

            Hopie put her finger on chin and began to spin around slowly while she thought.  The leprechaun herd watched, entranced.

            Hopie got dizzy enough that she fell down.

            All of the leprechauns gasped.

            Hopie giggled and then answered Val's question as she stood up.  "Do any of you guys know how to play poker?" she asked, sending them a pleading look.  "I think I wanna learn how to play."

            "Are you kidding?" Spelke said.  "Leprechauns love to play poker more than anything except when sheep sing karaoke."

            The other leprechauns looked at each other nervously.  For one thing, they weren't sure it was a good idea to teach a four year old human how to play poker.  For another, the sheep karaoke thing was supposed to be one of their secrets, like where they hid their stock certificates (pots of gold were so overrated).

            "Sheep?" Hopie asked, wrinkling her forehead a little bit in wonder.

            Spelke nodded.  

            "Baaaaaaah," a sheep said from outside of the cavern.

              Hopie jumped a little, the noise taking her by surprise.

            "Don't be frightened," Wynn said comfortingly.  "That's Nunzio."

            "Nunzio the sheep?" Hopie asked.

            All of the leprechauns nodded.  Hopie shrugged.  Nunzio seemed like a good enough name for a sheep to her.  "So about teaching me how to play poker," she said in her most adorable little girl voice, batting her eyelashes.

            The leprechauns had no choice but to give in.

            "Poor Hopie," Maddy said, her voice catching.  "She must be so scared."  She shot pleading eyes at her brother.  "We have to find her, Clay."

            "Angel's doing everything he can," Clay said.

            Maddy, Colette, and Nicolaa met eyes and silently agreed that Angel working on it was not enough.  Without a moments delay, Nic did her part.

            "Clay," she said, knowing that Maddy would have a plan and that Clay would need to be distracted for Maddy's plan to work.  "Do you think you could perhaps show me the text you were talking about at dinner last night? I think I could use the distraction."

            Clay, knowing exactly what Nicolaa was doing, agreed anyway, because truthfully, he didn't want to stop Maddy from meddling, and taking advantage of Nic's offer was too tempting.  There was just something about that girl.

            Maddy waited until they were gone before she turned to Colette.  "The way I see it," she said, "this all started when that demon brought Angel a package last night and he went all broody."

            Colette nodded.  For some reason, she had been thinking the exact same thing.

            "So," Maddy said, her eyes twinkling a bit even though her stomach was still reminding her that she was worried about Hopie, "the way I see it, we need to get that package."

            "Okay people," Lorne said inside the office, "I think I could settle this right now.  I'm getting this vibe that tells me that there's a little trickster at play here, and if you lovely lovies could just sing a little number for me, I might be able to see what we can do about it."

            "Don't look at me," Connor said.  "I only know two songs."

            "Two?" Gunn said.  "You learned another one?  Tell me it's not Britney."

            Connor glared at the man.  "It's not Britney," he said.

            "Well then, Snuggles," Lorne said, making Connor grimace, "sing away."

            Connor reluctantly started singing.

"Little Bunny Foo Foo

            hopping through the forest

            picking up the field mice and bopping them on the head

            and the Good Fairy came down, and she said

            Little Bunny Foo Foo

            I don't want to see you

            Scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head."

            Lorne allowed Connor to finish the song.

            "Well?" Connor said finally.

            "Well, Muffin," Lorne said, "those gestures were to die for, but you weren't the one I needed to hear sing."

            "These gestures?" Connor asked, repeating the gestures that went along with the children's song.  Then it hit him.  "If you didn't need to hear me, why did you make me sing?"

            "Comic relief," Lorne replied.

            "Hopie's missing," Cordy told Lorne sharply.  "I don't think we have time to sit around and laugh at Connor."

            "There are some things you always have time for," Gunn muttered.

            "Sorry, Cor," Lorne said.  "You're right.  Now if you and Angel Baby over there could just sing a little number for me, I think we could come to an agreement."

            Angel hung up on the kindergarten teacher and turned to Lorne.  "What song should we sing?" he asked.

            "Whatever floats your boat," Lorne replied.

            Cordy started singing.  It sounded beautiful to Angel.  To everyone else, it sounded like finger nails on a chalkboard.

"In the arms of the angel

            fly away from here

            from this dark, cold hotel room

            and the endlessness that you feel."

Angel joined in, and oddly enough, their off key voices harmonized.

            Lorne stopped them.  "It's just as I thought," Lorne said smiling.  "The little darling is a-okay, just fine."

            "Who took her?" Cordy asked, ready to kick some major butt.

            "Leprechauns," Lorne replied.

            Angel cursed and went to find Clever Hans.  Somehow, he knew that the demon had something to do with this.

            "What in the world would leprechauns want with Hopie?" Fred asked.

            Back in the magic cavern, Hopie had several bags of gold sitting in front of her.  She wrinkled her forehead a bit as she concentrated.  She adjusted the little poker hat the leprechauns had given her.

            "I see your bag of gold," she said, "and I raise you two more."

            "I fold," Val said.  The Shanshu child was a quick study.

            "Me too," Wynn said.

            "I'm already out of money," Spelke complained.

            Clarence glanced at the child.  "Okay, little cousin," he said smiling.  "I'm calling your bluff."  He laid down his cards: a full house.

            Hopie's face fell.  She put down her cards.  "All I have is these silly people cards," she said.  "Four of them plus a ten.  Well, at least they're all pretty hearts."

            "People cards?" Clarence asked.  Then he glanced down at the little girl's Royal Flush.

            "Darn you, Hopie," he said, grinning despite himself.

            "I'm sorry, Mr. Clarence," Hopie said.  "You can win if you want to.  Or we can play another game."

            "What kind of game?" Clarence asked suspiciously.

            "Well," Hopie said.  "You have a waterfall and that pretty sparkly purple pond.  If you had some floatie wings, we could play Marco Polo."

            "Can't you swim?" Val asked.

            "Yes," Hopie said, "but Momma and Daddy make me wear wings anyway, just until I'm a little bit bigger. Plus, that way Connor doesn't feel as bad about wearing his, cause he never learned to swim before."  She paused for a moment and then added what she considered the most important thing. "But you can't play with a crossbow near floaties, cause they can break."

            The leprechauns took this comment under advisement and prepared to play Marco Polo.

            Clarence wondered how long it would be until Angel paid them a little visit.  Hopefully by then, the lad would have learned his lesson.

            Maddy turned to Colette.  "Do you want to distract them while I grab the package?" Maddy asked.

            "I'll grab the package," Colette said, her timidity falling away now that she thought Hopie was in danger.

            Maddy took a deep breath and went about thinking of a distraction.  A minute later, she walked into the room.

            "Is Hopie all right?" she asked.

            Cordy gave the girl a hug.  "Lorne said she'll be fine, and Angel just went to see about getting her back," she reassured the girl.          

            Maddy hesitated a moment.  Did Hopie really need their help?  In the split second it took her decide that she did, Maddy shot a nervous look around the room and went about the task of distracting the adults.

            "Well, I know it's a bad time, but I needed to talk to someone…" she said, trailing off.

            "Oh, go right ahead, sweetie," Lorne said.  Cordy gave the girl a reassuring little squeeze.

            "Well," Maddy said, gesturing widely.  She paused a moment, not sure exactly what to say.  "I need to talk about sex."

            In the moment that followed, there was complete and utter silence.  Everyone in the room stared at the twelve year old.

            "What about it?" Connor asked, his voice deadly.

            "It sounds like fun," Maddy commented brightly.  The others stared at her.

Maddy, knowing she needed to get them out of the room, continued.  "Well, I gotta go meet this guy I met in a chat room.  See you guys in a bit."  The girl was out of the room, all of the adults on her heels within the next instant.

            Colette snuck in and took the package into her hand.

            "Marco!" Spelke called.

            "Polo," the leprechauns said.  Every last one of them was wearing bright orange floaties.

            "Polo!" Hopie cried, giggling and splashing a few feet away from Spelke's hands.  The leprechaun lunged and Hopie deftly dodged.

            "Marco!" Spelke said again, feeling discouraged.

            "Polo," came the response.

            "Baaaaaaaaaaaa," said Nunzio.

TBC… yeah, I know, majorly silly and not enough Cordy/Angel fluff,,, I couldn't help myself, but just you wait, there will be major shippy fluffies soon.  I think three more chapters (someone requested five chapters total, and I'm very accommodating).  Next up, Angel has a talk with Clever Hans, Maddy, Colette, and Connor get transported to the leprechaun land, and finally, the last chapter will be a nice family moment, when Angel and Cordy explain their families to Hopie and Connor.  This is, of course, assuming that I have the time and motivation… so REVIEW!


	3. Angelique

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters associated with BtVS or AtS, as they belong to Joss Whedon et al.  I do however own Hopie, Maddy, Colette, Nic, Clay, and the leprechauns.

Retroactive Disclaimer: I don't own the lyrics on the last page.  I'm pretty sure Bunny Foo Foo belongs to the fine folks at Disney, and Angel belongs to Sarah M.

APUNTES DEL AUTOR: Lo siento/ sorry, I'm feeling in a Spanglishy type mood today.  Anyway, here's another short update.  Sorry it's so short, but I AM on vacation and this is as much as I can manage.  Review for an update, otherwise the lazy vibes will probably take over…

The Luck of the Irish: Chapter Three

            Angel slammed Clever Hans into the wall with his left hand.  Hans twisted his already gruesome face into what probably passed for a demon pout.

            "Careful with the neck.  I'm getting over a rash," he said.

            Angel looked uneasily at his hand and then his mind returned to the task at hand.  "It's the funniest thing," Angel said, his voice low and dangerous, "my fiancé and I received a call today from Hopie's kindergarten teacher.  It seems she's disappeared."

            The demon gave Angel a sorrowful look.  "I'm sorry to here that, my boy," he said.

            "Another funny thing," Angel said.  "It seems she's a leprechaun hostage."

            Clever Hans choked on a giggle.  "So the little green fellows took exemption to your attitude, did they?  I should've known… I mean, there's _no way I could have known.  I was just the messenger."  He shot Angel a pathetic look.  "You don't shoot the messenger, do you?"_

            "I don't know," Angel said.  Then he sighed and loosened his grip a bit.  "No, I don't," he said.  Then his hand clamped his hand down hard around the demon's neck once more.  "But there's a distinct chance I might be in favor of maiming the messenger, just this once.  I do have a thing for alliteration, Hans."

            "Clever Hans," the demon gasped in correction.

            Angel rolled his eyes and allowed the demon some air.  "Where the hell is my daughter?" Angel asked.  "And why would the leprechauns want her in the first place?"

            Clever Hans stared at Angel.  "You don't get it, do you?"  He leaned over and pinched Angel really hard.  Angel's mouth dropped open in shock.  This short, fat, poor excuse for a "clever" demon had just pinched him.

            "You're not wearing green," he explained.  

            Angel, clad in his trademark black, shrugged.  

            "You've forgotten your heritage," he said.  "Worse yet, you've forgotten your family."

            "Hopie _is_ my family," Angel said, but his mind was on the package, sitting at home on his desk.

            Colette fingered the package, and as she heard Maddy doing her best out in the hall to keep all of the adults on their toes.

            "Well, it's not like the guy is a total stranger.  We've chatted, like twice!"  Only Colette heard the giggle in Maddy's voice as she strung the older people along.  Colette rolled her eyes.  It seemed to be a steadfast rule that all any teenager had to do to completely disconcert their parents was mention the word 'sex.'

            "No.  Sex."  Connor uttered the two words in a low voice.

            There was a slight pause, and Colette could practically hear Maddy trying to think of the next thing to say.  

            "Well…" the girl said.

            Colette heard footsteps coming toward the office.  Think, Maddy! She instructed the girl mentally, taking a deep breath.

            "Does-it-really-count-as-sex-if-it-happens-in-a-hot-tub?" Maddy blurted out.

            "Yes!" everyone over the age of sixteen shouted at once.  

Colette heard the footsteps turn away, and, after slipping the package down her shirt, she slowly opened the door and did what she did best.  She went unnoticed.

            The leprechauns and Hopie all sat in a circle next to the shimmering purple water, still wearing their floaty wings.

            After explaining the game to them very carefully, Hopie started.  

"Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" she said rhythmically in a high sing-song voice.  She grinned then, and targeted her look at Spelke.  "Spelke stole the cookie from the cookie jar."

            Spelke, forgetting the purpose of the game, jumped to his little leprechaun feet.  "I didn't steal any cookies!  That's an awful thing to accuse a leprechaun of, lass.  Around here, we take cookie thieving very seriously.  We'd throw the likes of them that would do such a thing to the sheep in a moment."

            The other leprechauns stared at Spelke, mentally telling him to be quiet.

            "Baaaaaaa," said Nunzio dangerously in a duet with another sheep.

            "Nunzio, Angelique, shush.  There will be no cookie thieves for you today," Clarence called out in a soothing voice.

            The sheep quieted.  Hopie peered closely at the sheep called Angelique.

            "My daddy's name is Angel," Hopie said after a moment.

            The leprechauns nodded.  This wasn't news to them.

            "We know, lass," said Clarence.

            "That's the broody sheep," Wynn said helpfully, nodding to Angelique, who did rather resemble her namesake with the dark look that had settled over her face.

            Hopie nodded.  It all made sense.  "Okay," she said patiently.  "I'll explain the game one more time…"

            As Colette crept up the stairs unnoticed, a huge grin spread across Maddy's face.

            "What are you thinking about?" Gunn asked suspiciously.

            "Ummmm…" Maddy tried to think of a benign answer.  After all, she didn't really need to distract the adults any longer.  Then again, benign was rarely fun, and Lady Madeline was a girl who lived for fun.  

            "I was thinking," she said slowly, "that maybe I'd like to join a nudist colony."  And with that announcement, Maddy practically skipped out of the room and up the stairs.

            Colette was waiting for her, and the two of them carefully opened the package.  Maddy gingerly took the contents into her hands.  There were drawings, dozens of them, of a little girl, a young man, and the beautiful countryside.  

            Maddy stared at the girl in the picture.  "Who do you think they are?" she asked Colette, her voice low.

            "My family," a voice came from beside them.  They both looked up guiltily into Angel's face.

            "They were my family."  His voice hung in the air.

            Clarence smiled.  At last Angel was getting the message.  "Little cousin," the old leprechaun said, addressing Hopie, who was teaching all of the leprechauns how to play 'Hopie says.'

            "Hopie says… spin around in circles," the little child said.  As all of the leprechauns and several of the sheep began spinning around in circles, Hopie answered him.  "Yes, Clarence?"

            "Darling lass, would you do an old leprechaun a favor and perhaps bring your papa here for us?" Clarence knew it would be faster to have the child bring Angel than to use his own fae magic.

            Hopie nodded and smiled.  She would do more than just bring Daddy.  Connor and Momma and some of her new friends would want to see the sheep too.

            "Hopie says… pat the sheep," the little girl said, concentrating on her magic.

            "Baaaaaaaaaaaa," said Nunzio.  Angelique said nothing.  She was sitting in a corner brooding.

TBC… ok, next chapter, Angel must pass the leprechaun's trials to regain Hopie, and Cordelia won't let him do it alone (FLUFF)… Connor, Maddy, and Colette get to meet the leprechauns, and Clay and Nic have an interesting moment at home.  Then, a major fluffy final chapter to be posted on St. Patrick's day, assuming I'm still getting reviews.


	4. Family

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the BtVS or AtS characters, as they are the property of Joss Whedon et al.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Looks like I didn't quite make it to five chapters… sorry, but I've been really busy writing on my novel, and the response had dropped off a bit (about eight reviewers dropped off the face of the planet), but I'm doing what I can.  Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and look for Thine Own Self next Sunday.

The Luck of the Irish: Chapter Four

            Maddy looked around.  Colette was standing next to her, and the two of them were standing in the middle of some kind of golden cave.  She looked over her shoulder and saw Connor standing as well.

            "Hi-hi!" a voice said from the entryway of the cave.  They all turned to face Hopie, still wearing her water wings, and looking very satisfied with herself.

            "Hopie," Connor said, rushing over to the little girl and picking her up.  "You're all right."

            Hopie laid her hand on her brother's cheek.  "I'm fine, My Connor," she said.  "I've just been playing with my leprechauns."

            "Your what?" Colette asked, her voice shaky, still not sure of where they were or why they were there.

            Spelke poked his head in the door.  "This is Spelke," Hopie said.  She wiggled to get down out of Connor's arms.  "Come meet everyone else," she told them, pulling his arm as she ran toward the other leprechauns.  Maddy and Colette followed.

            "This is Val and Clarence and Wynn," Hopie told them.

            "Baaaaaaaaaaaaa," several sheep said from the distance.

            "And that's Nunzio and Angelique and some other sheep I don't know," Hopie said.

            "Oh, that's Mary Sue-Bob," Clarence said, indicating the baby sheep.  "She's just a wee little sheep, she is."

            "That's the youngest Mary Sue I've ever seen," Maddy commented, not sure where the comment had come from.

            "Is it me," Colette whispered, "or does that sheep look a little constipated?" She pointed toward Angelique.

            "Actually," Connor said, "it looks kind of broody."

            "Didn't you say her name was Angelique?" Maddy asked.  All of the leprechauns nodded.

            Another sheep came and stood by Angelique: a bit too thin sheep with a similar broody expression in dire need of a haircut.

            "What's that sheep's name?" Connor asked curiously.

            The leprechauns changed the subject.

            "Where're Momma and Daddy?" Hopie asked, wrinkling her forehead.

            "Angel's not quite ready to have you back, lass," Clarence said.  "There's something he needs to settle first.  Do you have any other games you can teach us?"

            Hopie thought for a minute and nodded.  "There's a game called Duck, Duck, Goose, but I like to play Slayer, Slayer, Vamp instead."  The little girl went about teaching them how to play the game.

            "Angel, what's going on?" Cordelia asked, following him as they walked through some kind of enchanted forest.  Angel sighed and turned to face the woman he loved.

            "I know why the leprechauns took Hopie," he said.  He thrust the package he had taken back from Colette and Maddy into her hands.

            Cordelia opened it and looked at the pictures it contained.  "Who is this?" she asked him softly.

            Angel was silent for a moment, and then he sat on the ground and pulled Cordelia into his lap.  He nuzzled her softly and whispered into the back of her head.  "They were my family," he said.  "Once upon a time when I was Liam."

            Cordelia laid her head on Angel's chest, knowing suddenly that Hopie was all right and that Angel was the one who needed her.  "Tell me about them," she said, saying the words he most needed to hear.

            Angel held up the drawing he'd done of his mother when he'd been very young and slowly, the words came, describing the way she'd held him as a child, the way she used to stand up to his father for him, the way he knew he'd disappointed her.

            Cordelia sat, listening to him, loving him, until he came to picture of a little girl.  "That was my sister," he said.  "My little Kathy."

            "I didn't know you had a sister," Cordelia said.

            "I killed her," Angel commented, his voice rough.  "I killed them all."  Cordelia buried her face in his chest and did what he could not.  She shed tears of grief and mourned the family he had lost so long ago, and in her tears, they were one.

            Nic tried to ignore the way Clay was staring at her.  Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.  "You know," she said, her accent crisper than his, "when you look at me like that, it makes me feel like you're undressing me mentally."

            Clay simply cocked one eyebrow.  He was incorrigible.

            "You're not interested in me," Nicolaa stated firmly.  She'd been with the Council so long that she couldn't remember ever interacting with a flirting boy before.

            "Aren't I?" Clay asked.  

            "No," Nic countered, her eyes stubborn.  She spoke slowly.  "You just think you are."

            "Oh," Clay said, accepting her answer.

            Taking her by surprise, he grabbed her shoulder and kissed her, gently and deeply on the lips.  Instinctively, she kissed him back.  

            When their lips parted, she was gasping for air.  "You didn't just do that," she said.

            "Didn't I?" he asked, his eyes dancing, as he turned and left to save whoever Maddy was currently teasing.

            Nic stared after him, savoring the taste of her first kiss.  This was strange, but quite… lovely wasn't the word.  It was all quite… quite intolerable really, and wonderful at the exact same time.

            All of the leprechauns, Maddy, Connor, Colette, and several sheep sat in a circle as Hopie circled them, as she had been doing for a good five minutes.

            "Slayer, Slayer, Slayer…" she said as she touched each of their heads.

            "Pick someone," Spelke grumbled.

            Hopie touched his head.  "Slayer," she said, sticking out her tongue at him.  "Vamp!" she shrieked, patting Connor on the head.  She started running around the circle as her brother ran after her.  She safely made it back to his sit.

            "Connor's in the mush pot!" she giggled.

            Maddy tried to keep a smirk off her face, but she couldn't do it.

            "Baaaaaaaa," laughed Nunzio in a little sheep giggle.

            Connor sent the sheep a deadly glare.

            "So," Maddy said, to break the silence as much as to irritate Connor.  "Is it still sex if close your eyes?"

            Colette giggled helplessly, and Hopie looked at Maddy, interested.  

            "I don't think you should ask Connor that," Hopie said.  "But Aunt Anya might know."  Hopie paused.  "Or Nunzio."

            Nunzio gave a very seductive, "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

            On the spur of the moment, Clarence waved his arms and some latin pop music filled the air.  

            "Oh no," Connor said.  "Tell me we're not singing Karaoke."

            "You aren't," Val said, letting all of them know they were about to see something very special that few non-leprechauns got to see.  She pointed to the sheep.  "They are."

            Cordelia turned around in Angel's lap when he finished talking and raised her head to meet his eyes.  "Thank you," she said simply.

            "For what?" he asked, thinking for the millionth time that she was beautiful.

            "For sharing them with me," Cordy replied.

            Angel put his hand on her cheek, gently tracing the path of a single tear down her cheek.  "Thank you," he said.

            "For what?" she asked, bringing her face closer to his.

            "For loving them," he replied.  "For loving me."

            His lips closed over hers, and he tasted the salt from the tears she'd shed for him as they both fell into a passionate and gentle embrace.

            When they looked up, they were surrounded by the oddest sight they had ever seen.  Three sheep were standing on their hind legs on some sort of makeshift stage, absolutely crooning the words to some song he'd never heard in Spanish.  Dancing around them in a Conga line were their daughter, their son, the Potentials, some leprechauns, and a few more sheep.

            "Daddy, Momma, come dance!" Hopie said.

            Angel and Cordelia did as they were instructed, and Angel bent down and whispered something into the ear of the leprechaun in front of him.

            "Baaaaaaaaaaaa," said Angelique.

            Later that night, Connor, Cordy, and Angel sat in Hopie's room as Angel told the little girl a bedtime story: a story about another little girl who'd lived a long time ago, who had loved St. Patrick's Day and stories about fairies and leprechauns.

            Hopie fell asleep, dreaming about her daddy when he was a little boy, playing with her Aunt Kathy.

            Clarence sighed, content that he'd put in a good days work, as one of the sheep gave him a back rub.  The herd was quiet without the child, but he had a suspicion that they hadn't seen the last of the little Shanshu child.

            She was, after all, kin.

OKAY FOLKS, THAT'S IT, but since I've had a couple of requests for Wes/Willow and Faith/Lindsey stuff, here's a small bit on each of them.  If you asked for it, enjoy it.

            Lindsey stood, a towel wrapped around his waist, beside their bed as the tropical morning sun gently lit his body.  He looked at Faith, her hair mussed, deep asleep and taking up far more than her half of the bed.

            Her dark hair covered her face, and as Lindsey looked at his wife, a smile began to make its way onto his finely sculpted face.  It had been a long journey, but finally, he'd made it to where he was meant to be.  With Faith, beside her.

            She murmured in her sleep, and he knew that the nightmares were plaguing her again.  She'd told him stories that made his belly curl: stories of the father who'd left before she was born, stories of the mother who spent more time drunk than sober, stories of a little girl hiding under the kitchen sink where her mommy couldn't reach her.

            He climbed into bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her.  She turned into him and laid her head on his neck.  "I love you," she murmured, "for chasing away the nightmares."

            He held her, and she him, and the light of the morning shone on them both, as a new day, the first in their new life together.

            "Eeek!" Willow said.

            Wes, watching the Potentials and his sister training with Buffy in the back yard, turned to Willow.  "Eeek what?" he asked.

            Excited and with wide eyes, she pointed to her stomach.  "Eeek this," she said, gesturing widely.

            "Is the baby all right?" he asked.

            "All right and kicking," Willow responded, her eyes filled with wonder.  "Eeek!" she said again.  "I think he's doing the Can-Can."

            Wes put his hand tenderly on her bulging stomach.  "He's obviously going to be a football- er, soccer player," Wes said.  "Eeek!" the British man said suddenly, feeling movement beneath his hand.

            His eyes met Willow's and they both laughed as he leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to her stomach.

            "I love you, baby," he said, his voice gentle.  He worked his way up to Willow's face.  "I love you, Mommy," he said, planting a firm kiss on her lips.

OKAY GUYS, until next week, I hope that will hold you… here's a sneak peak at what's to come:

THINE OWN SELF

            Faith and Lindsey go off to search for the second demi-slayer, while Buffy discovers that Chance has a personality all her own.

            Kendall and Anni make an Alliance that can only lead to mischief.

            Joss pines after Jordy.

            Clay pursues Nicolaa; Maddy plays matchmaker.

            The Fang Gang discovers a toddler vampire, whose human mother stirs things up a bit.

            Lilah makes plans to reclaim her baby, as Willow progresses through the pregnancy.

            Hopie's first loose tooth and related hi-jinks.

AND much, much more.  

NOW GO REVIEW.  ALL OF YOU.  YEAH, EVEN YOU.  


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